GE Capital Agrees to Pay $19MM in Ponzi Scheme Settlement

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that GE Capital agreed to repay $19 million in interest and principal it received from the $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Tom Petters.

The Tribune said the GE settlement is the largest to date in a series of lawsuits seeking to recover false profits collected by investors and others who did business with Petters. So far, more than $284 million in assets have been collected, most of which will be repaid to victims.

The Tribune noted, according to the agreement, GE and Petters’ bankruptcy trustee Doug Kelley, agreed to mediation after a year of talks to “avoid uncertainty, substantial expense and distraction associated with protracted litigation.”

Kelley and his team of bankruptcy attorneys filed 201 clawback lawsuits two years ago seeking to recover $17 billion for victims of the scheme. The original claim against GE was for $293.5 million.

Petters was convicted on 20 counts of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, and sentenced to 50 years in prison.